The Nettles Family Blog

A bathroom!

As much as I would love to say HOORAY! IT’S DONE! it’s not. But it’s close so that’s something. I figured I should take pictures now while it’s still newish because have you ever tried to keep a bathroom spotless with a toddler? And before things get all marked up and water-spotted, let’s remember the fresh new feeling that is right now and then plunge into using it how it should be used. Asking guests to please wipe down the sink after washing their hands just so it stays pretty isn’t exactly the kind of home I’d like to run, so without further ado, I present a currently new-almost-finished-bathroom!

Wait, first let’s take a look at our bathroom situation. We have Greg and my master bathroom which has lovely brick flooring that soaks up all liquids and always smells something like urine with a hair (among other scary things) riddled shower drain and many questionable stains etc – ants also love to make their home in the pipes so expect a few of those shooting out each time you turn the water on. We have the lower main bath which is a charming 60’s green that everyone over 54 begs us to not touch. This bathroom is a beauty complete with rust stains and ripped walls, boasting a lovely tub in desperate need of a new glazing and a rotted out shower that has never been turned on because the people that sold it to us said not to and we obey. Oh and it’s dark. I don’t like dark. And then we hadthe upper half bath (this bath) located between the nursery and the guest room, that was actually the nicest of the bathrooms we had to offer, yet had no place to bathe which means if you want to shower, you have to go into our master bath which I should mention is a bit open concept to our bedroom, OR brave the dark scratchy tub that shoots up dirt from the drain. So, although the least scary option, having guests or just bathing Abbie wasn’t ideal. And with this new baby coming and planning on doing another home birth, it made the most sense to renovate that bathroom first even though I so so soooo wanted to get rid of one of the more icky bathrooms. ONE DAY. So anyways, let’s just take a look at how this little space used to be!

Oh the cuteness. Please note, the blue tint from the blue window panes casting that lovely dreary glow. The charm, the charm. So we kept things in relatively the same place, got rid of that little cabinet along the window with the 4″ deep drawers that were surprisingly hard to open, reversed the door swing so we could fit a bigger sink and all of a sudden this tiny little bathroom felt huge!

Honestly, it was so good for me to see how long these sorts of things take because 1) I’ve been painting my house for almost a year now and want to just bury my head in a paint can, it’s taking so freaking long and 2) I honestly thought this would be a weekend project haha (we started at the end of February) so watching this process unfold was a bit reassuring to me. My dad said it would take longer and cost more than we expected and in my heart I said no no no! but he was ever so right. So, good things to note for future renovations if they ever come about :) We bumped out the right wall to accommodate a bath/shower combo and add a bit of storage back in and I just love how it turned out!

Obviously still waiting for the toilet to be hooked up (I CAN’T WAIT to have a toilet up there again. Who knew what a luxury that was…) and have the curtain rod installed. I’m so tempted to try to install it ourselves but I’m so afraid of cracking the tile when drilling into it so I guess we shall continue to twiddle our thumbs and wait. You might be thinking oh but Hillary! They have such lovely glass doors that would look so sleek up there! And to that I say, heck no. This bathroom is mainly for the kiddos and what kiddo do you know that will squeegee that lovely glass door each day?? I see caked on water spots. PLUS with a curtain, more than one kid can get ready in there at a time which is necessary with one bathroom and x many kids. I’ve thought this through. Now gimme a high five.
Bye bye little frilly curtain and the mysterious stained wallpaper! Bye blue glass and cut up linoleum floors! Our house is old (1886) with a bit of Victorian farmhouse flair so I wanted to do something that was classic, that adults would feel comfortable in, that could grow with the kids, but also had some fun quirks that were a bit more playful as it is still a kids bath. I found a fun hexagon marble online that was WAY cheaper than anything I found in the store and although it isn’t the best looking marble (if you were a critical expert), I think it looks just dandy and is just what I had in mind. Although once it was installed, I read something along the lines of “it would be very strange to have marble upstairs in the 1800’s” haha so… someone didn’t do her history lessons… BUT it’s MY house and I like it. Also, it’s not the 1800’s anymore. So there. And then we added some wainscoting and a giant quirky mirror and I think it’s quite the lovely space to hang out ;) I find myself going in and looking around every time I put Abbie down. It makes the stair climb more bearable.
We also added a little medicine cabinet to the left of the sink for a touch more storage. When it first went in, it looked a bit mmm.. square, circle, should we add a triangle over there? But now I like it. It feels awfully sparkly in there :]
Why would you put the soap on a shelf and not by the sink? Because it looks better. What a silly question.
AND Greg and I only got in one big disagreement the whole time! Those towels. He says it’s gross to have them that close to the toilet. I say it balances the room better. You can move them if you come over and are grossed out. And give Greg a knowing look of sympathy. I normally will always choose function over beauty but actually that’s not true at all so there you have it ;) A little bathroom with a whole lot of love poured in. Thank you to EVERYONE who helped us out with this little space! I just love it and Greg and I can’t thank you enough! Now come visit!!!